INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

ISIS Magazine ‘Dabiq’ Urges Targeting Of Other Muslims

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 01:23 PST, Jan 21, 2016

The ISIS magazine, Dabiq, just released a new edition and announced that the Islamic State is now targeting fellow Muslims along with people in the West. The online magazine announced the death of the terrorists known worldwide as “Jihadi John,” and ran an obituary for the man believed to have been the executioner in multiple viral videos released by the group.

Dabiq is published online in English. The latest issue of the ISIS magazine is 56 pages long. Multiple articles in the publication calls on loyal Islamic State followers to “justifiably” kill Shia Muslims. The 13th issue of Dabiq is entitled “The Rafidah: From Ibn Saba’ To the Dajjal.” Rafidah means “rejecters” and is reportedly a derogatory term for Shia Muslims, NBC News reports.

In the text, a theological argument is put forth to detail why the murdering of Shia or Shiite Muslims should begin occurring. The Muslim sect is in the minority in both Iraq and Iran, but in control of government functions. Shia and Sunni Muslims have been religious foes for centuries, Fox News reports.

The ISIS Dabiq magazine claims that Shia Muslims are apostates and should not have power over the Sunni majority in the Middle East. One line in the magazine articles encouraging the killing of Shiites reads, “The spark has been lit here in Iraq, and its heat will continue to intensify — by Allah’s permission — until it burns the Crusader armies in Dabiq.”

Shia military forces in both Syria and Iraq have reportedly been pushing back against ISIS fighters in the region. Clarion Project National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro said that the tone of the latest Dabiq edition is in response to the ongoing fight between the two groups.

A separating of the ways between Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims occurred not long after Muhammad died in 632, and has caused tensions among the two sects ever since. Sunni teaching reportedly states that the “true lineage” of Muhammad goes to those believers who follow his teachers most closely. After the death of the Muslim prophet Abu Bakr, a close friend of Muhammad, Sunni became the first Islamic nation Caliph. Shiite Muslims believe not the friend but the cousin-in-law to the prophet, Ali Bin Abu Talib, was the rightful heir to the position of power.

“The magazine spends so much time justifying the killing of innocent Shiites that it suggests that ISIL is frustrated that too few Sunnis favor sectarian massacres,” Mauro said. “ISIS is making the argument because it sees a problem it needs to address. ISIL is hoping to enlist Sunnis by framing its jihad as part of a prophetic battle where the Shiites and Jews eventually unite behind the Antichrist.”

There are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. The Sunni Muslim population comprises about 85 percent of the number of practicing Muslims around the glove. Leaders from the sect are currently in control of many Muslim nations, including Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

The majority of Muslims in Africa are also reportedly not Shiites but Sunnis. Most Shia Muslims live in Iraq and Iran. This sect reportedly believes that bloodlines, and not an exact amount of devotion, will determine Muhammad’s successors. Throughout history, Shiites have objected to being governed by leaders put into power by the will of the people. Members of the Shia sect adhere to authority that follows a cleric line, which they feel was appointed by Allah or Muhammad and not man.

The recently released edition of the ISIS magazine also praised the widows of ISIS fighters who have died in battle and chastised the ongoing government activities in Saudi Arabia.

What do you think about the ISIS magazine Dabiq urging the targeting of fellow Muslims?

[Image via Shutterstock]

Share this article: ISIS Magazine ‘Dabiq’ Urges Targeting Of Other Muslims
Isis Islamic State
More from Inquisitr